Iceland Pro Cruises

Regarding the Ocean Diamond... Did you happen to notice the price for having them do laundry? This will affect what I pack... What types of clothes did you pack? Layering best option?

Had some jeans washed -- they had been soaked from the ocean when we were in the zodiac (rather dreadful gale and waves). Price very reasonable as I remember, but don't know how much: if it had been high we would have remembered. VERY casual, many layers. We had very cold weather, but luckily no rain. But it is always windy. Bring warm scarf, gloves, hat, and coat. Yes, we had filled out the manifest and had some sort of document(s) but can't remember what, they had emailed them to us. But it is not a big thing if you don't have them, I would think, don't think they ever checked them. Names alone gave the information for boarding.

We are leaving at 6 pm. What time did you board? Do we need the 2 prong converters as in Iceland or the 3?

We are leaving at 6 pm. What time did you board? Do we need the 2 prong converters as in Iceland or the 3?

We boarded about 4 pm. they had a HUGE buffet in the lounge upon boarding, cakes/cookies/meats and cheeses, veggies, etc. So eat a very light lunch, since there is also dinner served at 6:30.

As far as converters, we used a three prong I think, though can't quite remember. Since I use a heating pad, we boarded a converter and extension cord (as well as a multi-plug) from the desk. Limited numbers of them. But there is only one plug, if I recall, on the desk, so if you have to charge Ipods/cameras and so forth, a multi plug is good to have.

Yes, you really need a minimum of 10 to 15 days to take in a good part of Iceland, based on my family's prior two trips there.

 

My wife and I have traveled on Windstar before (Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 2006), and we'll be on IPC's Ocean Diamond with our son later this summer. So, we'll report back on what we find.

 

I would not consider the Windstar cruise of Iceland because it's too short. For us, there's a big difference between a 7-day cruise (Windstar) and a 10/11-day cruise (IPC). We find that 7 days leaves us wanting more days, that 10/11 days is just about enough.

 

We anticipated when we booked that IPC would be 'less frills.' We have found virtually all of the accommodations in Iceland (particularly outside Reykjavik), while expensive by U.S. standards, to be 'less frills.' We did the Celebrity Reflection in February for the ship; the IPC cruise for us will be about the destination, which includes both Iceland and Greenland.

 

The same IPC ship (Ocean Diamond) sails Antarctica for Quark during the opposite season. I see that their fares are $10,000 - $15,000 pp, at a minimum. So, if people are willing to pay that kind of money to sail the same ship with good reviews, I'm hoping that we can't go too wrong. Like them, we are largely focused on the destination.

Thank you!! for the excellent info. Sure is food for thought.

I will read this thread with keen interest.

Here is a question of rather importance. We sail tomorrow and I still don't know where to catch the ship. Do you remember where it was docked? We r staying at icelandair marina hotel

Here is a question of rather importance. We sail tomorrow and I still don't know where to catch the ship. Do you remember where it was docked? We r staying at icelandair marina hotel

Miðbakki „Old Harbour“ (300 m from city center)

about to board our flight from boston now :)

Here is a question of rather importance. We sail tomorrow and I still don't know where to catch the ship. Do you remember where it was docked? We r staying at icelandair marina hotel

Hope you get this in time. It is in the old harbor, across from the big hotel. Very very easy to find. Walk into the old town and down to the harbor and it is there. They will store your bags til you board in a secure building and deliver to your room so you can wander around town with out it. Also, when you disembark they will also hold your luggage until you need it and it is also secure. Bus can stop at the port there to pick it up. Easy.., Have fun

Tobyscruff,

Please post after your cruise. Considering for 2016.

Hi, Chennai/Pam,

First of all, many, many thanks for your great review as well as your numerous responses to others' questions. We feel the positives in your review outweigh the negatives, so we've pretty much decided to book a cabin on next year's circumnavigation cruise, plus adding a day in Reykjavik to rent a car for the Golden Circle sights.

But we also are seniors, and while the lack of frills doesn't bother us, we are concerned about being able to sleep at night. You mentioned a great deal of banging noise during a night of rough seas. Was this noise present during most of the cruise, or was it just due to particularly bad weather on only one night? We are probably going to request a cabin on the same deck you had (deck 4). Was there any talk about one deck being quieter than the others?

The second matter is the mattress. You mentioned its poor quality, and the problem it caused for you. Did the other members of your party have similar problems sleeping because of their matresses? Any details would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for all of your info. There will always be problems of one sort or another, and it helps enormously to know about them beforehand.

Kenzoid

I agree with you. The noises that were the most irksome was almost like a door (s) were slamming and it was worse on that one night, but our friends that traveled with us complained also that it was pretty common. They are doing lots of construction on the boat, painting, moving things, and so forth, so maybe it will have been taken care of by the time you sail. I would write to them directly and ask if these things have been resolved. We too are elderly, and I have a dreadful back, so am hyper sensitive about mattresses. But they were also replacing mattresses, I believe. Keep reading reviews to see if the problems have been rectified, to at least some degree, by the end of August. My husband didn't love the mattress, but didn't have as great an objection as I did. Nor our friends. But they have bad/old beds at home!!

Looking back, I think that I would definitely take the same trip again, as there were so many positives, mostly the itinerary and the friendly staff. But there are other ships coming on line now, and so ProCruises had better fix its problems or lose customers to them. They are quite costly, and others are competing with as good as, or cheaper fares, with maybe better accommodations. Don't know, as I haven't read any reviews about the other lines, except those that are embedded in this particular forum.

Hope you have a wonderful trip next year. Pam

Thanks, Pam, for the info. I think we'll hold off a few more weeks before making a decision, with the hope that reports from folks who will be taking this cruise during the rest of the Summer will give us a better idea of what progress has been made solving these very basic problems. It's a shame they still exist, because the excursions for IPC seem much more interesting than any I have seen on other cruise lines, and your enthusiasm supports this impression.

Thanks, once again.

Kenzoid

Some cruise journals are now posted on the website allthingscruise for this Iceland Pro Cruises. You can search for those who were on the late July 2015 cruise.

I wrote a trip report in another forum about my cruise, I can post it here if anyone is interested. Not sure where to put it though

Igneous

yes?

Igneous

Please post it here. We are considering this for 2016 and want to know.

I haven't been able to find the reports on allthingscruise website

ok, beware it's an insane amount of pictures, mostly from land too.

ugh, this is going to take forever, I can only post 6 images at a time.

Im just going to make my own thread, but it will take some time since i can only do 6 images per post

I too am looking for information about Pro cruises and ocean diamond ship in particular. We are going to Iceland and would like this itinerary. Also does any one have any information about GOWAY travel based in Toronto Ontario? Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance

We have booked with Iceland Pro Cruises for May 2016. We got the early bird special and are really looking forward to it. I have never used GOWAY travel although I am aware of that company. We booked our cruise by phone directly with Iceland Pro Cruises and they were very helpful. Once booked they emailed an invoice advising of payment schedule. We booked our own air from Toronto with Iceland Air. It's a direct flight. Air prices were excellent and priced in Canadian dollars. We have already booked our bus from Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik Hotels with Gray Line Iceland. It cost 17:00 Euro's per person one way. We have booked our trip both ways. We know someone who has used it and its an excellent service. We are staying for 6 days extra in Reykjavik and have booked a studio apartment. Again this is recommended by a friend who has already stayed there. The cruise leaves from right downtown Reykjavik and is convenient walking distance from our studio apartment. We are relying on Cruise critic for more information about the cruise itself but we are now booked to leave on May 24th 2016 so are going anyway. If anyone is booking the same dates as us I would be happy to chat about what we know and learn. Thanks to everyone who posts on this topic.

It was too much work to post my report on the forum, so I just threw it into a blog. If you're interested here is the link https://icelandprocruises.wordpress.com/2015/08/04/our-trip-to-iceland-with-iceland-pro-cruises/

We have booked with Iceland Pro Cruises for May 2016. We got the early bird special and are really looking forward to it. We booked our cruise by phone directly with Iceland Pro Cruises and they were very helpful. Once booked they emailed an invoice advising of payment schedule. We booked our own air from Toronto with Iceland Air. It's a direct flight. Air prices were excellent and priced in Canadian dollars. We have already booked our bus from Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik Hotels with Gray Line Iceland. It cost 17:00 Euro's per person one way. We have booked our trip both ways. We know someone who has used it and its an excellent service. We are staying for 6 days extra in Reykjavik and have booked a studio apartment. Again this is recommended by a friend who has already stayed there. The cruise leaves from right downtown Reykjavik and is convenient walking distance from our studio apartment. We are relying on Cruise critic for more information about the cruise itself but we are now booked to leave on May 24th 2016 so are going anyway. If anyone is booking the same dates as us I would be happy to chat about what we know and learn. Thanks to everyone who posts on this topic. We have done a mixture of luxury vacations and cruises to backpacking and staying in hostels in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand plus many other parts of the world. I believe from what I have read on this board we will have a great cruise. For me it's about the adventure and my passion to travel. Iceland is a beautiful place and we are there to see all that it has to offer. Happy travels everyone.

yeah you're going to love it

Go to all things cruise.com (all one word) and look for iceland-pro cruises. Saying good bye to a magical trip. This link and this persons story and photos are amazing. They went with Iceland pro cruises. I am so please I am booked. I can't wait to go now I have seen these lovely photos and the writers story of their trip.

Thank you for posting your blog.

We are thinking of going in July 2016.

We are researching IPC and WIndstar Legend.

The Road Scholar all included tour with the IPC cruise is attractive but seems pricey.

Was your stateroom comfortable ?How was the food?